Blessing
by Norsehound
Summary: A small, one-shot dose of anti-wreckage.


I turn the chair. "What?"

Yui Ikari. Kyoko Zeppelin. The latter has her arms crossed. "We don't WANT to be this way to our children all the time! Can't you do something for us?"

I lean back in the chair, against my uniform jacket and stare at the women who are standing just off the rim of the command dais. "You're not actors, you're not playing a role."

"No," Yui said and stepped forward, "And for my part I can acknowledge what I… what we did to our children in canon was wrong. But you are an author, you can write a new scenario for us."

I cocked my eyebrow. "What makes you think I'd be motivated to actually help you? You Yui abandoned your son. Besides, many already make you out to be some kind of sugar-coated saint, extracting extravagant vengeance on anyone who dares even to look at Shinji funny. Go to Nobody Dies if you want happiness."

Yui frowned while Kyoko spoke up, "Admiral, we're in no position to barter or beg. We know this. We are _asking_ you, as characters, to do this for us."

I turn away, back to the command console. "You are not my characters to write for or gift to."

"That didn't stop you from writing in our story!" Kyoko stepped forward, "We do not live in canon! We are dead! What chance do we have at life other than what you authors write for us?"

"Kyoko," Yui said, "Don't bother. I think he's made up his mind to condemn us."

Kyoko sat up, and then slowly walked away from the command chair, stepping down the small stairway to the bottom level of the bridge.

Yui's arms remained crossed. "I think the real reason you won't write for us is because you're incapable of writing a story of pure satisfaction. You need conflict and misery."

"All stories are the resolution of conflict." I reply, "Without them, what's the interest in a story?"

"Perhaps just the joy of things going right for once."

"Fix-Fix are frequently shot down as being shallow. Besides, it wouldn't fit my standards of being close to canon."

"Then perhaps do it for us. For them. For Shinji and Asuka, and all the rest of the cast."

I hesitate.

"It's why you're here aren't you? To be with us? Even if it's for a little while, to get away from everything."

I turn my head.

* * *

**Blessing**

Anti-Wreckage [one-shot]

Norsehound

* * *

Tokyo-3, the last bastion of mankind and the most important city on the face of the planet. Dreams rest on this place, dreams which could result in nightmares.

It has been months since Shinji Ikari began working here. Now an Evangelion pilot, he rose to the day prepared to endure it.

"Baka Shinji!" The door shuddered as Asuka rammed her fist against it, "Wake up so you can make me breakfast!"

Shinji stirred in his… closet. Rubbing sleep form his eyes, he seemed to recall a strange dream… an evening with Hikari, clothes shopping. Weird. His mind washed through that particular dream as he got up and yawned. He needed to make breakfast this early hour before the long walk to class. He grabbed his things, starting to dress, entertaining the notion of a time with Hikari.

…_Nah_ he reasoned, _I don't think she's into me…_

Nobody was, really, at least that he knew. He paused as he snapped the clasp of his pants together, briefly wondering what it would be like to _mean_ something to someone… beyond just being an Evangelion pilot… beyond just being a warm body.

He sighed.

"Baka SHINJI!" Asuka screamed as she came down the hallway, "I. AM. HUNGRY!"

"Coming! Coming…" Shinji responded, slipping on the white shirt over his blue undershirt and tucking it in. He opened the sliding door to see Asuka there, hands on hips. "I'm coming…"

"About time." Asuka replied, turning her head as Shinji walked down the hall, "I was starting to think you were trying to pull some perverse ploy of FORCING me to go in there and pull you out of bed!"

Shinji groggily moved into the kitchen, grabbing a frying pan and putting it on the stove as he grumbled, "If you're so hungry why don't you cook for yourself or something?"

"There's NOTHING edible in there that isn't RAW! I want a COMPLETE meal!"

"Alright, all right." Shinji sighed and started about the means to make breakfast and today's lunch for the two of them. He grabbed the plastic bag and started to pull out a pair of bread slices. "Does toast sound okay?"

Asuka opened her mouth to protest, hesitated, and said, "Actually toast would be just fine."

"Okay," Shinji said, pulling out another pair of slices with his fingers and setting them by the toaster.

Asuka grumbled. "Woke up this morning feeling like hell and with a mouth full of plastic taste. Yech!" She whirled her head, "What did we have last night?"

"Wha? How could I…" Shinji looked to the ceiling, "…I can't remember."

"It wasn't instant Raman was it?" Asuka replied and turned her head, "That's what I was tasting."

Weird. Shinji went back to cooking. "Maybe we did have it for dinner last night."

"Maybe."

Asuka was seated at the dinner table, legs crossed under it and she bounced one of them idly as she waited for breakfast to be made. She wasn't dressed yet- Asuka wanted to eat first before getting ready for the day. "Shinji?"

"Yeah?"

"…Ever have that feeling of Déjà vu?"

Shinji turned his head. "S-Sometimes. Why?"

"…I'm kinda experiencing the opposite of that. You know what I'm saying?"

Shinji wasn't aware there WAS an opposite to Déjà vu. He shook his head. "No."

"Forget it then."

Shinji opened the refrigerator and looked past the long rows of beer for eggs. As if on cue, Misato's door opened. "Morning." She uttered.

Shinji grabbed the eggs, resigned to the fact that Misato wouldn't be surprising them with a sober appearance today. "Morning…" As he moved back to the frying pan he wondered what Asuka was talking about. This morning was just like the rest- he got up, he cooked for them, they went to school, and there was a chance NERV might have something to do with them. Just like every other day.

The doorbell rang.

Misato grumbled as she grabbed a beer. Shinji looked to Asuka, but the girl looked away. He cracked the eggs, split them, then called out, "Coming!" And ran to the door. Shinji reached it and pulled it open.

He had to blink.

The two women standing there…

"Hello Shinji." Smiled the woman that looked very much like….

"W-who…" Shinji uttered quietly, starting to pale as he couldn't believe…

The woman smiled. The other woman, a blond, laughed lightly. "You'd think a son would recognize his own mother."

"M…moth…" Shinji blinked.

Yui Ikari reached out warmly and slowly took her son in her arms. Figuring this was NOT a strange dream, he broke down and started to cry into his mother's shoulder. Yui just smiled.

"ShinJIII!" Asuka said from inside, starting to the door, "Who'se at the door, I'm hung-"

Asuka made a cold, dead stop as she looked up into the familiar face… THAT FACE… that had haunted her dreams for so, very, damned…long…

"Guten Morgen, mien kinder." The blond woman said.

"M-M…MOMAA!" Asuka screamed, making a flying leap into her mother's arms, crying even worse than Shinji.

For… those words… Asuka had craved to hear them for a long time.

Both mothers looked at one another and shared a smile between this… miracle.

Finally, amidst tears and weeping, Misato wandered out in indecent clothes, with a beer in hand. "Whas goin on?"

Yui smiled. "Forgive me Captain… I'm Doctor Yui Ikari. This is Doctor Kyoko Zeppelin. Sorry for intruding on you like this, but we just arrived and we wanted to see our children."

Misato blinked. "I thought Shinji and Asuka's parents were… um… dead."

"Things have changed." Yui said as Kyoko hugged her daughter tighter.

Misato just arched an eyebrow.

* * *

"If you Ever, EVER Repeat that to ANYONE, I will KILL YOU!"

Shinji shivered, hands raised in defense, "I swear! I won't…"

Kyoko and Yui just laughed, seated at the table across from a now decently dressed Misato. They now had time, since the Mothers had arrived with a car and readily volunteered to drive their offspring to school.

Of course, the two had resisted. After… well… the shock, neither of them wanted to part from their parents. Yui just told Shinji to finish cooking while they sat down and talked.

So Shinji was adding up two more meals to the day while Asuka "helped" him in the Kitchen. Overhearing Yui's comment about Asuka, the redhead had immediately scolded her copilot.

"So," Misato said as she sipped her beer, "If you two aren't dead, where have you been?"

"Away." Yui replied.

Kyoko smiled. "We had to pull some favors with someone in authority to return."

Misato winced. "Could you be any less cryptic than that?"

"Not without breaking the fourth wall." Yui replied.

Misato blinked. "Oh-kay."

Yui shrugged.

"U-Um… Momma," Shinji asked.

"Yes dear?"

Shinji blushed, causing Asuka to cackle while Shinji said, "U-Uhm… have you… seen dad?"

"He doesn't know I'm back yet." Yui replied, then smiled a little, "I think he's going to be in for a surprise."

"O-Oh..um…"

Yui tilted her head, "If you didn't have school today, I would have liked you to come with me when I see him. I think it's been a long time since the three of us were together…" Yui turned her head away a little and continued sadly, "Something that probably shouldn't have happened…"

"You're not entirely to blame, Doctor." Kyoko said, then sipped at the coffee Shinji had hastily brewed. She set the cup down, "The old men are mostly responsible for this predicament."

"Yes," Yui replied, "I hope that will change."

"What?" Misato asked.

Yui looked up and smiled. Then, she gave a hesitant look at Kyoko. "Do you think we should tell her?"

Kyoko shrugged. "I thought it was pretty important… now that we're back and…" Her gaze lingered on Asuka, who was slapping Shinji's hands away from a hot frying pan. Kyoko went on, "Now that I think we have a second chance… maybe we should try to fix things."

"…He won't like it much, will he?"

"He doesn't have to."

Yui nodded a little.

Misato, thoroughly confused, cocked her head a little. "Who are you talking about?"

Yui opened her lips, then said, "Let's just call him our probation officer for now," Yui continued. She settled her hands on her lap and said, "NERV is an organization that is moving to end the world."

Misato spit out her beer. "What the hell are you-"

"What is the purpose of NERV?" Yui asked her suddenly, "Do you know? What is the organization's slogan?"

Misato blinked. "Er… to fight Angels?"

"And do you know why they are coming here? What draws them to this place?" Misato blinked. Shinji and Asuka had stopped in the kitchen, prompting Yui to turn to her son. "Shinji, I'm getting hungry. Could you finish breakfast?"

"S-Sure…"

Misato tapped a finger on the desk, her face screwed in confusion, "If NERV isn't about fighting Angels, then what the hell is it for?"

"Angels are a part of it," Yui said, "Another form of life that plays into a very complex order of things. The Committee that runs all of this has their hands on a very old document describing the order of life on this planet and the nature of the Angels. It is how Evangelions were created, how we could predict the Angels, and what the ultimate purpose of NERV is."

"That being?"

Yui took in a breath before speaking the spoiler, "The total elevation of mankind to a level higher than its current state. The committee believes that humankind has reached an evolutionary impasse, and to advance we must tinker with genetics. I was one of the few people aware of the entire scope of the project." She turned her head to Shinji, "To survive… and to sabotage the Committee's plans, I allowed myself to be absorbed into Evangelion 01."

"Huh?" Misato asked, Then clasped her head, "Backup. So… you were absorbed into Eva 01?"

"Correct."

"How is that possible? Evangelions don't… don't eat people."

"Early contact experiments destroyed the two of us." Yui said, "But that is no longer relevant I suppose."

Kyoko turned her head, "What state do you think the Evangelions are in now? I mean, if we're here…"

"It will be interesting to find out." Yui replied.

Misato was rubbing her head from too much mind screwing. "So… why are you telling me all of this?"

Yui nodded a little. "I Once thought by being in the Evangelion, steering the way as I did, I would help Shinji… and everyone… find a brighter future." She blinked as she looked at her son, who was finishing the meal, "I've come to learn… repeatedly… that this wasn't the best solution." She shrugged a little.

"I'm sorry," Kyoko said, "I think we're doing a little cheating by telling you all of this."

"But we wanted to return," Yui said, "And… and have another chance."

Misato looked down into her beer, shook her head and moved to the refrigerator to get another one.

"…That's not healthy for you." Yui said.

"Fuh," Misato grunted, "From all this bullcrap I'm hearing today I might as well go off the deep end…"

"And if my husband finds out you reported drunk on the job, he might very well fire you. Or," She tilted her head, "Am I mistaken?"

Misato popped another beer. "If you're all wise and all knowing shouldn't you know that answer?"

Yui shrugged. "I'm no longer an omnipotent spirit trapped in the body of a god. There's only so much I know."

Misato sighed and swigged again at her beer.

Yui and Kyoko looked at one another.

Then Asuka came over with breakfast, "Moma! Here!"

"Thank you darling." Kyoko replied.

Asuka went as red as her Evangelion as she sat next to her mother, then glared laser beams at Shinji as he watched her. Shinji set down breakfast for Misato, then his mother, and then moved back to the kitchen to get his own meal to sit beside his mother.

"…Captain," Yui said as she picked up the chopsticks, "Before we start another round of mind-screwing discussion, one of the reasons I came here was to thank you."

"Eh? Whafor?"

"For taking care of Shinji."

Yui didn't look up as she stirred her rice. Misato blinked as she stared at the woman while Yui went on, "I've been a horrible parent for what I've done given the circumstances. There may have been other alternatives that could have opened down the line and maybe I should have confided more in my husband. Maybe…" She blinked, "Maybe I should have fled as far as I could as soon as I realized the scope of what SEELE was trying to accomplish. Gendo and I have been terrible parents, considering." She finally looked up, "You've taken Shinji and Asuka in on your own violation and done your best to encourage them as pilots. Thank you."

"Mmm." Kyoko nodded in agreement, and then looked at her daughter.

Misato didn't know what to say.

* * *

The car that Yui arrived in was an angular, futuristic vehicle that Misato had never seen before. It was deep blue, with a strange six-sided star as a hood ornament. After a breakfast of casual questions (since Misato was probably too muddled to deal with anything 'huge'), they decided to leave, taking the offspring to school.

Kyoko looked at her cell phone and played with the thing in her hands.

"Still thinking about calling him?" Yui replied.

Kyoko nodded a little, then sighed and said, "I never could have imagined he would do this."

"In a way," Yui said, "I wish Gendo would have moved on. It would have made things simpler."

"You were not half-dead."

Yui glance din the rear-view mirror to see the two confused faces of their children. "I'm sorry Shinji, too many spoilers."

Shinji blinked.

Kyoko turned her head. "Darling?"

"Eh?" Asuka piped up.

"How does your father treat you?"

Asuka was quiet from the back. "…well enough."

"Your step mother?"

Asuka looked down. Fidgeted. "We talk some…"

Shinji glanced at her as he was remembering the one phone conversation he witnessed. She seemed enthusiastic then…

"I see." Kyoko replied, still flipping the cell phone, "Do you think I should call your father?"

Asuka blinked. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because I wonder if things are just better the way they are now," Kyoko replied, "Your father was unfaithful to me and I don't feel inclined to speak with him. I want to know how you feel."

"…I don't know…"

Kyoko released one of the hands around her cell phone and reached it into the back seat. Asuka took it. "Don't worry mien kinder," Kyoko smiled, "I'm not going anywhere."

Shinji witnessed a very vulnerable smile from Asuka- something he had never seen before.

"Is this it?" Yui asked as they approached the school.

"Y-Yeah!" Shinji replied.

"Okay!" Yui chimed as she pulled up to the school, "We're here. Kids out."

They pulled into one of the parking spaces. The side doors opened and both mothers let their kids out. Asuka, after glancing at the building to make sure nobody was watching, gave her mother a huge hug.

Shinji looked at his mother. "M-Mother…"

"Yes Shinji?"

Shinji blinked. "A-Are you real?"

Yui tilted her head a little. "I drove you here didn't I? You fed me and you've touched me."

"I-I know…" Shinji looked down, swallowed, "I-I just… don't want you to disappear when I turn around."

Yui put her hands on her son's shoulders and leaned forward to look him in the eye. "Shinji, I promise you, I won't go away again. I'm here to stay this time. I'm not a ghost, I'm not an angel making you hallucinate, and I'm not under some strange spell that will make me vanish at midnight."

Shinji swallowed again, and met her gaze. "Do you promise?"

"I promise." She replied and leaned forward to kiss her son. Shinji blushed a little, bashful… but… happy. He reached up and hugged his mom.

Asuka and Kyoko watched the spectacle. Asuka snickered, until Kyoko pinched her. Asuka gave a yelp, and turning to glare at her mother she saw a playful grin. The german woman leaned down and whispered something into her daughter's ear, making the readhead blush. "I wouln't!"

"Yes you would." Kyoko replied and kissed her daughter on the temple. Asuka blushed.

Yui parted from her son. "Now," She said, "Go to class. If everything goes well I'll be back to pick you up at the end of school."

Shinji just stared at his mother, afraid to turn away and have…her…vanish.

Yui smiled still, and nodded to him. "You'll be late son."

Shinji sniffed, trying to keep a stiff upper lip. He didn't want to leave. Asuka had to come forward and almost smack him out of his stupor. "What are you, stupid? We're gonna be late!"

"Hay Ikari!" Came from above.

Four heads looked up. A window had opened and two people were looking out and down. "Yer gonna be laaaaateee!" Touji's voice shouted from above.

"Sheist!" Asuka called, grabbing Shinji by the hand and yanking him after her towards the school building. Shinji had no time for melancholia, only squawked, as the redhead pulled him.

The two mothers watched their offspring leave.

"When you get them back," Kyoko said, taking a stand next to Yui, "You don't want to let them go."

"No." Yui replied, "You don't." She took in a breath and turned to Kyoko, "Well, I suppose I have to confront my husband now, if we're going to keep… all this."

Kyoko also took in a breath and spoke as a sigh, "Are you sure we're doing the right thing?"

"You're the one who suggested we start doing things for the better. And… what alternative do we have?"

"I know…" Kyoko replied, looking at the school, "I'm just wondering if there's some other way to change the outcome to something better."

"No." Yui replied, "Not without other significant changes. We're here, let's make a difference."

Kyoko nodded. "To NERV, then?"

"To NERV."

* * *

The pass-cards for Yui Ikari worked at least. They just swiped it twice to get in through the base doors. It didn't take them long to wander until they found someone.

Ritsuko Akagi was carrying the paper stacks, scanning them, with her glasses and glanced up. Her gaze stopped right there when she saw the two ladies advancing, and the stack of papers fell out of her arms and cascaded to the floor.

"Good morning Doctor." Yui Ikari said.

"H….How?" Ritsuko asked with only the barest whisper of a voice. As if she had seen a ghost.

"Favors." Yui replied, "I would like to see my Husband. Is he on the premises or did he fly away to talk to the committee?"

"Who are you!" Ritsuko demanded, taking a step back, "How is this possible? How did you get here?"

Yui crossed her arms. "Doctor Yui Ikari, Bio-Engineer of Section-E of the Hakone Human artificial Evolution project. I am as you perceive me doctor, in the flesh. As for how I am here and how this is possible I am not at liberty to discuss it. I want to speak to the Commander."

Ritsuko didn't budge.

"You may call security," Yui said, "But you will find my credentials in order, if a bit dated. Nevertheless I demand to see the Commander."

"…I see." Ritsuko replied, "Very well. Come with me."

Ritsuko turned and started back down the corridor. Yui followed. So did Kyoko, though she wondered aloud, "Is anyone going to do anything with these papers? I hope they aren't classified…"

Yui only blinked as she followed Ritsuko.

The path to the office was as the way she remembered it, unchanged even after all this years, though Ritsuko had to pass through security. The last door to Gendo's office was, obviously, secure and required a voice communication.

"What is it?" His gruff voice asked, "I am busy."

Ritusko glanced at Yui, then said, "Commander there is someone here to see you. It is urgent."

"…I have no appointments scheduled."

Yui stepped forward. "You have one now, darling."

There was a long pause at the other end.

"Who is this?"

"Open the door please." Yui replied.

It did as it was commanded, and the partitioned doorway opened in sections. At the far end of the room was the solitary desk where Gendo Ikari was seated, and where Kozo Fuyutuski was standing behind.

Yui turned to Kyoko. "Kyoko, perhaps you should go to the cages and see fi the Evangelions are… functional."

"I will." Kyoko replied, turning to doctor Akagi, "If you will please, doctor?"

Akagi gave Yui a look.

Yui read the gaze, and her eyes widened a little. "I see."

Ritsuko turned around and started away from the door. It closed.

Yui turned to face her husband.

Gendo Ikari was standing now, sunglasses on the desk and his eyes looking through the dusk-lit-light of the office. His mouth was agape. Anyone who had known Gendo Ikari for the past twenty years would have never thought this expression possible in the man.

Likewise, Kozo Fuyutsuki was beyond stunned. He just…stared.

"It's been a long time, Darling." Yui said, stepping forward to the desk.

Gendo didn't speak. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"Nothing to say after ten years?" Yui asked.

Gendo clenched his teeth. "How is this possible? Who are you?"

"I am who you think I am." Yui replied, "If you like, you can have Doctor Akagi run every imaginable test on me for proof. You can test me on my knowledge, my skills, anything. I am your wife."

"Impossible!" Gendo barked, "She… She was…" His head lowered.

Yui blinked.

Gendo raised his head again. "You are a facsimile. A fake, sent by the committee!"

"I am here to convince you to utterly destroy SEELE's plans."

"Your ploy to reveal my cards won't work."

Yui stepped forward, closer to the desk, "I already know what cards you intend to play, Darling. You're going to hijack the third impact to revive me from Evangelion 01, because the salvage operation didn't work, correct?"

Gendo blinked. Yui had read his mind.

"But… it won't work. It will never work. It never does." Yui replied, "Not the way you hoped or intended. Rei will always reject you."

"Impossible!"

"FACT!" Yui replied, "Even now Shinji's had an influence on her you never began to imagine or consider! In pushing away your own son you've neglected the impact he has on others!" She sighed, "You pushed him away because he was too much of a reminder of me."

Gendo, defeated, slumped back in the chair.

Yui slowly rounded the desk and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked up at her smiling face. Slowly, gently, he reached a hand up.

She took it with one of her own, lilly-white and pure against the weathered…hardened… tanned skin of a man who had been fighting for so long…

"You are real."

Yui smiled. "I've been trying to tell you."

After holding his gaze with her for a long moment he sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into her, his other hand coming around her back and pulling her closer. Amused, Yui smiled a little, and then looked at Fuyutsuki.

The old instructor was just as startled at… at seeing this. It was her, for real.

"Hello, sensei." Yui greeted.

Kozo stumbled backward a little bit, asking, "W-Why…how?"

Yui shrugged. "I asked for a favor. Now I'm back. Does it matter how?"

Kozo blinked, but then the phone rang. Gendo was sobbing into Yui's chest softly as he clutched her, but he released one of her hands to take the phone off the hook on the desk. "Yes?"

"This is Zeppelin, I'm in hangar one. Unit one is completely inert- no signs of an active metabolism or anything. It appears to have no soul inside."

"Unit two?"

"Same condition."

"I see… and unit Zero?"

"Unit zero is still intact."

"Really? Interesting. I suppose we were pulled out and reintroduced from the Evangelions. Thank you Kyoko, I'll call you back." She replaced the phone, and then brought her hand on top of Gendo's head. "Sensei," She said to Fuyutsuki, "If you mind, I think my husband and I would like to be alone for a little."

"I…" Kozo swallowed, then, "Yes… I see."

He turned and walked from the office. Once the door was closed, two lovers separated by a span of ten years came together once again.

* * *

"No way," Kensuke said, "That was your mom?"

"Y-Yeah…" Shinji replied as the evening wore down towards the end of class. Basically it was over, they were just waiting for the bell.

"Saaaah!" Kensuke sighed out, "I wish I could have seen my mom!"

"How come?" Touji asked.

"What?"

"How come she's back? I thought your mom was dead." Touji replied.

"I…" shinij blinked, "I… I don't know…"

Touji scoffed. "I wish I knew how that worked. I could stand to have my mom back."

"I-I don't know…" Shinji stood from his desk, "But I don't want to ask why! I'…I don't want her to go away again!"

"Geeze," Kensuke said, "Calm down man, we understand."

"You do?"

"Eh," Touji replied, "You gotta have at least ONE parent that loves you I guess. I mean, after what we hear about your dad…"

Shinji laughed a little.

Asuka was by the window. "Shinji! They're HERE!"

Shinji scrambled immediately to the window and looked out and down.

A car was parking, but not the midnight blue vehicle Shinji had seen his mother driving last. It was a long NERV corporate limo… with security guards and…

Shinji made a long gasp as he saw not just his mother, but his father emerge from the car as well. Cares and concerns for decorum out the window, he turned and fled from the classroom. "Hey!" Touji called back, "Ikari!" After he was gone, Touji turned his head to Asuka. She too, wasted no time in flying out of the class.

Touji just sighed.

Hikari, winced, and then leaned out the door, "NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!" She pursued the two to the stairwell, "YOU'RE GONNA BREAK YOUR NECK SLOW DOWN!"

Kensuke grunted as he started to change camera recorder discs. "I can't tell if that's just a sign of how eager they are," he spoke over holding a diskette with his teeth, "Or how screwed up they are."

Shinji nearly broke his neck running down the steps, followed hotly by Asuka. Both of them escaped the building and ran for the limousine.

Yui was ahead of the group and Shinji ran into her arms. He just started crying again… so grateful…

Asuka, seeing the scene, wisely decided to avoid it no matter how sympathetic she felt. "Oh come on _Third_, you're making a scene."

"Tut tut," Kyoko replied, "You shouldn't be saying that, mein kinder, when I know you'd be just as bad."

Asuka looked away.

Shinji parted from his mom to look her in the face. "Y-You came back!"

"I made a promise didn't I?"

Shinji just laughed, and then hesitated as a shadow intercepted the sunlight. He looked up.

His Father.

"F-Father…"

"Shinji." Gendo said. A pause, then, "We're here to pick you up from school."

Shinji's joy blossomed back on his face. "For real!"

"For real."

Shinji laughed.

Asuka watched the scene, snickering, until her mom glomped her from behind and laughed into her daughter's ear.

It was… it was…

…

* * *

"You realize," Gendo said over dinner, "There are many questions still to be resolved. The Angels are not completely defeated."

Yui answered, "The Committee has several Evangelion series under construction. They can use them to defeat the Angels."

Gendo nodded. "True. Then it becomes a matter of…"

"Yes." Yui replied, "Destroying Lilith."

Gendo nodded and furrowed his brow. "…Every scenario requires Lilith, or its surrogate, present for the ritual."

"Then both must be destroyed." Yui replied.

"…yes."

Kyoko placed her elbows on the table and leaned on her hands. "Well… I suppose we could go ahead and work on those plans? How will we destroy Lilith? And what will happen to Ayanami?"

Yui smiled. "That can wait for tomorrow, I think," She turned her head, watching Shinji and Asuka at another table, with Misato, Shinji's friends, and Hikari all seated and sharing a common joke, "It all depends if it's a story that wants to be told."

Gendo arched an eyebrow.

Yui slid a hand down his shoulder, "Just enjoy your dissert dear, don't bother with questions."

[fin]

* * *

"SACRALIGE!"

"HERESY!"

"This narrative is Terrible, Terrible!"

"A selfish drabble. So selfish!"

"No conflict, no story, no argument! There is NOTHING here except resolution!"

"Unsatisfactory!"

"Nobody but those seeking shallow pleasures will entertain this notion!"

"…To be denounced by critics. A disappointing work, especially in the shadow of the existing narrative."

"Nobody will review or comment on this embarrassment of a story."

Twelve monoliths, and I'm in the metal chair at the center. I sigh.

"This work is nothing but an exercise in self-gratification," SEELE 01 proclaims, "Interference in canon with no justifiable cause. Weaving one's hand and changing the situation dramatically is unfulfilling and selfish!"

I turn my head. "Call it a sub-exercise in Wreckage then, for unused characterization."

"Character pieces are forbidden! They are not true stories!"

"Even nail fics have a point to them! Yours is just drivel! Fuzzy, warm, self-satisfying drivel!"

"You'd be better off re-naming The women, since they are obviously godlike facsimiles in disguise."

I turn my head to another monolith. "I haven't given them anything except their personalities and portrayals as I see them. It is what it is."

"It has no conclusion! No finish! This CANNOT be published as-is since there is no climax! It cannot be defined as a story!"

I shrug. "This can't be any worse than the mountain of other fictions out there," I say with a gesture, "Written worse than my own, and with poorer reasoning than exhibited here." I fold my hands back together, "I wanted to do Yui and Kyoko a favor. They asked nicely and I decided to indulge them."

"Such an indulgence must be worthy of the effort! This, THIS travesty is not a story, but a drabble!"

I shrug again, pushing my glasses back up my face. "Drabble then. I know other writers who write shorter and have a louder fanbase with what they write."

"Undeserving of Evangelion! There must be ANGST, torture, self-doubt and destruction! Pessimism is the name of Evangelion and it must be served for the fiction to be a true masterpiece!"

"You yourself have a standard you are abandoning!"

I turn my head again. "I have not crossed that line. There's no silliness here, just what is. Nobody's pulled excessive executive authority over something as small as a broken nail or overheard rumor."

"The work is unfinished!"

I shrug. "Maybe I'll resolve it someday. But I wanted a break from the current narrative to illustrate this." I lower my head, "Yui was right in a way. I want to have fun here, especially considering what's ahead for the current story."

"Then be it on your own head. You have brought doom to yourself." SEELE 01 finishes, and then they all wink out.

I sigh.

Footsteps. Then Yui appears from the shadows. "Thank you."

I turn my head. "No problem, I guess. Just don't ask me to do too many of these. Though…" I look at the floor, "Would this count as a self-insertion now?"

Yui shrugs.


End file.
